Over the past few weeks, I've shown a number of properties where the owner has been present to personally handle the showing. I can understand the desire of an owner to show their own house. After all, they know the house and property better than anyone else. But in my experience, owner-led showings are usually less successful, and can actually hinder rather than help the sale of a house.
We Realtors wear a number of hats (including armchair psychologist, marriage counselor, dog sitter, child distracter and pond site finder, in addition to our more traditional roles as negotiator and problem solver.) But our top hat is being professional home showers. We do it all the time, and the best of us have a fine tuned sense of timing and flow, when to hold back, when to offer comments and suggestions, and when and how to redirect or counter misconceptions buyers may have. Most owners don't have that experience.
The biggest mistake most owners make when showing their own home is focusing on minutae and details. When a buyers first go into a house, a good real estate agent exercises a light touch, lets them get a feel for the place, roam around and soak it in, with a little nudging direction here and there.
Owners, on the other hand, are very proud of every thing they've done with the house, from upgrading the electric to installing a new boiler to lining a hall with built in bookcases to putting heat tape on the pipes. As they tour prospective buyers through the house, they're prone to point every one of those things out. Those items can be great to point out on a second or third pass, when they can help to fill out the picture of the home. But the first pass is about making an emotional connection. Without the emotional glue, there won't be a second or third pass. Nobody's bought a house because it has cedar closets. (One of the telltale signs of a new Realtor is a similar detail-focus. They're so eager, that they point out every little detail, like turntables in the kitchen cabinets and heated towel bars.) Pointing out some key details is fine, particularly if they point to a certain quality level, like Waterworks fixtures in the bathroom or an energy efficient geothermal heating plant. But cabinet turntables and double insulation in the attic shouldn't make the first pass feature list.
The other big drawback of an owner leading the showing is that the buyers are inhibited from talking frankly about the house. After an owner has just told you that his beloved and now-deceased wife picked out the purple tile in the bathroom and he laid it himself, it's really hard to say you hate the bathroom and want to rip it out. Owners take buyer comments or desires to make changes very personally, and sometimes practically get into a defensive posture with them. A case in point is gas fireplaces. Many city buyers want real wood burners, and I often have discussions with my clients about if and how a gas fireplace can be changed to a wood burner. But an owner will often get into a whole defense of their gas fireplace, pointing out how they're low maintenance, clean and efficient. But weekenders don't want clean and efficient, their dream is to cuddle up with a glass of wine in front of a crackling real wood fire.
Lastly, like it or not, the owner becomes part of the buyers' response to the house. Occasionally, that's an asset, particularly if the owner is a colorful character with interesting stories about the house. But more often, it's a liability. The owner might not respond well to the buyer's children, or get very short if they touch anything. Sometimes an owner can be very controlling when they conduct the tour, which may rub the buyers the wrong way. Or they dismiss a buyer's concern as "nothing", leading the buyers to distrust the seller and wonder what they may be hiding. Worst of all, an owner may give off a subtle response to a buyer's race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, which can be a real deal killer.
Realtors know that houses show best when they're a blank canvas, enabling buyers to paint their own picture. That's why listing agents regularly recommend that sellers pack away a lot of their personal memorabilia, like family photos, books that indicate a strong political or philosophical stance, or religious iconography. (Stuffed animal heads on the wall should also find a temporary home in the basement or garage.) The reason Realtors recommend this is so that potential buyers form their opinion about the house, not the owner.
So sellers, let us do what we do best. Show your house.
(One clarification. This commentary is about owner-led showings, not showings where the owner is home but makes themselves scarce. I often have showings where the owner sits on the deck or patio while I show the house. This can be great, because they're available as a resource if there are specific questions. But they let me or the listing agent guide the showing.)
No.
Owners shouldn't be at their home. Period.
The listing agent should pleasantly advise the owners to take a drive into town (or if their house is in town - then out of town) with their kids, cell phones and dogs.
It's hard enough to show and sell houses with extracurricular activites such as the teevee playing, dogs barking, cigarette smoke blowing and phones ringing.
Donna.
P.S.
On your previous post - there was a song from the 70's Dave - you be the eternal optimist:
By the way, I love your blog!
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"The Morning After"
(Song from "The Poseidon Adventure")
(As recorded by Maureen McGovern)
AL KASHA
JOEL HIRSCHHORN
There's got to be a morning after
If we can hold on thru the night
We have a chance to find the sunshine
Let's keep on looking for the light.
Oh can't you see the morning after?
It's waiting right outside the storm
Why don't we cross the bridge together
And find the place that's safe and warm.
It's not too late, we should be giving
Only with love can we climb
It's not too late, not while we're living
Let's put our hands out in time.
There's got to be a morning after
We're moving closer to the shore
I know we'll be there by tomorrow
And we'll escape the darkness
We won't be searching anymore.
There's got to be a morning after
(There's got to be a morning after)
There's got to be a morning after
(There's got to be a morning after)
There's got to be a morning after
(There's got to be a morning after)
There's got to be a morning after
(There's got to be a morning after)
There's got to be a morning after
(There's got to be a morning after)
There's got to be a morning after
(There's got to be a morning after).
(c) Copyright 1972 by 20th Century Music Corp. & Fox Fanfare Music Inc.
International copyright secured. All rights reserved.
- SONG HITS, Summer 1974.
Posted by: Donna | July 18, 2009 at 06:12 AM